We are planning to be there several days in August 2008.

As much as I'd like to stay IN the park I am concerned about doing so.

despite the fact that MANY of you have chimed in about staying at places such as the Old Faithful Lodge, etc., I am also bearing in mind posts such as those by Bob brown describing some of the accommodations as "third world" and so forth.

So we are considering staying somewhere in West yellowstone or perhaps even in Gardiner.

Your thoughts appreciated and yes, I DO like air conditioning LOL!

Thanks.

Good morning, Dukey

We're heading to Yellowstone in September. Love their webcams!

Anyway, our reservations include:

West Yellowstone - Holiday Inn Sunspree
Gardiner - Best Western Mammoth Hot Springs
Old Faithful Inn, eastside room
Lake Hotel, frontside room

We've stayed at the Sunspree in W Yellowstone before. It's a nice, large and clean hotel, rooms are very acceptable, A/C, and the breakfast is real food from a restaurant (usually can include it in the rate). It's very convenient to the park, esp. the river just past Madison Junction (have seen many elk there in the past).

I don't know how long you can wait to make your in-park reservations, but I'll be sure to post back when I return with comments re OFI and the Lake Hotel.

I've read some comments here, too, so I'm pretty curious how it will be. The location is unbeatable, tho.

Kopp,

Thanks VERY much for your repsonse.

Yes, I like the idea of staying in a more central location, too.

Generally I tend to make reservations as soon as I can for places such as these and I know for in-park accommodations that is usually a year and a day out.

Your upon return comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

Just a few comments on places I've stayed inside the park.

Old Faithful Inn - LOVED IT! We stayed in either the East or West Wing which is in the newer section of the hotel. We had our own bathroom, and a clean, decent sized room. I peeked into a room in the older section of the Inn and it looked small and slightly dismal.

Old Faithful Snow Lodge - New, updated and very comfortable. I would stay again if I needed a room, but it was a bit too sterile for me. It was missing the charm and history of the OFI.

Canyon Lodge - I really enjoyed this central location and I was happy with our lodging choice. Easy access to all areas of the park and the feeling of being a bit away from the crowds. We stayed in the newer lodge (Cascade or Dunraven) and were very happy with the rooms. The cabins at Canyon were downright scary looking - at least from the outside. It looked like a strong wind could blow those little shanties away.

I've started to become an AC wimp myself, but we were fine when we visited in July and August.

Wtm003

Thanks very much for your detailed response which makes our decision easier.

As to A/C...my feeling is that the term "air conditioning" includes both heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.

We have visited several National Parks and Yellowstone is a little different in that there are several towns with hotels right outside entrance. West Yellowstone and Gardiner hotels are within sight of entrance. while we often stay inside Park, when we were there 2 years ago we made plans too late to get in-Park lodging.

It was fine - and there were even advantages. We did Grand Teton first, staying at Jackson Hole Resort Lodging condos - about 2 miles from entrance and 10 minutes from downtown Jackson Hole. Liked having full condo (travelled with husband and 2 teens - we all like our space)

Then several nights in West Yellowstone at some non-descript chain hotel. Less expensive, more space, more dining choices than in-Park. Also, went to local rodeo where I am sure we were only non-locals there. (Who knew one could bring in suitcases of cheap beer to a rodeo). People watching and talking to locals was one of the high points of our trip.

Then stayed a few nights at Gardiner - Absoroka Motel/Lodge. Accomodations were fair, but came with balcony or patio overlooking Gardiner River. Again, talked to locals - heard great stories about bison roaming the streets of Gardiner in the winter.

We were also able to go to local farmers market and grocer to buy lunch items for picnic in Park. Teenagers liked sports bar/restaurant we found in West Yellowstone to catch up on baseball. Much easier to get real food than in Park.

Either option has its advantages - this is just what worked for us.

Gail,

Thanks for your comments.

As much as I like staying in the parks I absolutely agree there are advantages to being close to other activities. I very much appreciate your recommendations.

Dukey - you don't mention if you're going to Grand Tetons as well. As to YNP itself I'll leave others to provide personal recs. Sounds like you've gotten some good ones. I understand your concerns - the first time we went, we had reservations at Coulter Bay Cabins. The cabin was so bad, we left after 5 minutes.

If you are considering the Tetons, thought I'd mention that we've stayed at both Jackson Lake Lodge and Jenny Lake Lodge and used them for day trips into YNP as well as GTNP and the town of Jackson Hole. We found the trips to YNP very easy and convenient. Jackson Lake Lodge is very nice. The rooms on the backside have incredible views - unobstructed vistas across the Lake to the Tetons. Good restaurant and really nice rooms (with AC). Jenny Lake is a little more upscale, but well worth IMO if it's within your budget. Great rooms and cabins, with an excellent restaurant (plan on eating there a time or two even if you don't stay there).

DFR4848:


PLease tell me MORE.

All the posts I've read have said it is not convenient to do YNP from the Tetons (yes, we are going there, too).

Jenny Lake Lodge is certainly affordable to us. I even looked into the Amangani which is also affordable but their rooms only hold two people and three of us will be traveling so that is definitely out.

I'd love to be able to base in one wonderful place fort the whole thing.

Dukey - we've spent a week at Jackson Lake Lodge and also a week at Jenny Lake Lodge.

Each time, we'd use about 3 days visting YNP, visiting a different part each day (Upper and Lower Geysers one day, Yellowstone Grand Canyon and the upper circle drive another, etc). Then another couple of days in GTNP, hiking and boating around Jenny Lake, raft trip on Snake River). Then a day driving over Teton Pass into Idaho for the day (great drive and very uncrowded) and a day or so in Jackson Hole. [if you enjoy photography, be sure to visit Tom Mangelson's studio, Images of Nature. Absolutely some of the most incredible nature photos I've ever seen. It's right downtown.]

Some people might think that's a lot of driving but we didn't and certainly never tired of the scenery or the wildlife.

Cabin at Jenny Lake was one bedroom, and I think living area had sofa bed but can't be sure. The restaurant, we were told, is top training spot for chefs in the national park system - and I'd believe it. Fantastic food, and they'll fix picnic lunches if you want to go hiking, just have picnic etc (at least they did). The staff couldn't have been better. It is a little off the regular beaten path, so it's quieter, but we liked that.

We found both places pretty central to what we wanted to do, although it may not fit everyone's schedule.

Hope this helps.

Dukey,

We were there this past Sept, and stayed at 3 different places in YNP, plus we checked out the others for future trips.

Our favorite, and the nicest, hands down was Dunraven Lodge at Canyon. Dunraven has an elevator, Cascade does not, for their two floors.

Dunraven looked new, is well maintained, very quiet, and the location in the park was perfect for us. We were mainly interested in wildlife, but we could easily scoot over to Norris, etc, to see the geothermal features.

We stayed in OFI, and although we loved seeing the huge foyer, the old section, watching OF from their beautiful old balconies, and eating at the restaurant . . . to us, staying in the nice wing was much ado about nothing. The rooms were clean and okay, not too old, but since we didn't have an OF view, we felt the price/experience with our room was not worth it. We talked to many who had rooms on the OF side, and few could really see it for the trees.

The Snow Lodge at OF was much nicer, more on the line of Dunraven Lodge.

Think old dorm rooms for the hotel at Mammoth. We looked at the cabins and they reminded us of old camp cabins. It's what I think of when I think National Park.

Don't get me wrong, it's all doable and lots of fun, and we loved every minute. I felt like you were asking for the nitty gritty on the lodging so I'm trying to oblige. ;-)

Good luck with the planning!

In GTNP, we had a cabin with a fireplace at Signal Mtn. The bed was perched in front of a picture window and we sipped our wine in bed beside a roaring fire (okay, so it's gas)while watching the snow fall outside and over the Tetons. Soooooo romantic! ;-)

Thanks very much for these additional, and helpfully-detailed, responses. They make decision-making much easier.

Much, much appreciated.

Hi Dukey

True I have thrown rocks at some of the accommodations in Yellowstone. However, the Western Cabins at Canyon and elsewhere in the Park are ok. None have air cooling, but usually you don't need it. However, I have seen some very hot days in Yellowtone.

The cabins associated with the Snow Lodge are also acceptable even if they sit in an area surrounded by black grit. Being close to the big geysers is most enjoyable.

The third world accommodations that I know about are the Old Faithful cabins that are not rented through the Snow Lodge, the Rough Rider cabins at Rosevelt, and anything else in the park designated Pioneer or Budget. Those designated "Frontier" are marginal.

If you can get one of the higher priced rooms at Old Faithful Inn, it should be ok. The room we had that we deserted after one night was in the old section.

That was the one where the shower rod conked me in the head. I still chuckle over the disinterest of the desk clerk who checked me out: Her concern was whether or not I was conscious enough to sign the credit card slip!!

Her compassion was underwhelming.